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Armed Forces Covenant
If you serve, or have served, the Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that you and your family will be treated fairly.
We're supportive of our Armed Forces community, and proud to have achieved an Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award in 2024.
As a forces-friendly organisation, we accommodate the needs of our growing community of reservists, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, service leavers and military-connected family members.
Our positive policies towards Defence People include the following activities and initiatives.
Reservists and Cadet Force Volunteers
If you're a Reservist or Cadet Force Volunteer you'll benefit from:
- a mobilisation framework for Volunteer Reservists and their line managers to help prepare together for mobilisation and return to work
- ten days additional paid leave for Reserve service and training
- five days additional paid leave to undertake Cadet Force Adult Volunteer (CFAV) training. Learn more about CFAV opportunities.
Entrepreneurship
Our partnership with X-Forces Enterprise means the winners of the business categories of the Soldiering On Awards each year become Entrepreneurs in Residence at ARU. This sees successful businesspeople take on roles at ARU. They may offer formal mentorship, advise students and graduates on their business ideas and start-up companies, and pass on their valuable experience.
Online degrees for the Armed Forces
We offer unique work-based distance learning degrees for members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
Recruitment
We partnered with Career Transition Partnership, an organisation that helps Service Leavers/Veterans find employment. They promote select ARU professional services jobs that suit the skills and experience of the CTP audience.
We also joined the Forces Families Jobs website, a platform that offers job opportunities to military-connected family members. Here, we share professional services vacancies with the FFJ audience.
Armed Forces Staff Network
We're developing a network for service leavers and veterans, reservists, CFAVs, family members and any other individuals with an interest in the Armed Forces employed at ARU. Our Armed Forces Champions will help foster an inclusive workplace culture, advocate our commitment to the Covenant, increase a sense of belonging through meetings, activities and events of interest to our network members and the wider community that we serve and signpost network members to relevant people and resources for mentorship and support.
Campus events
- Chelmsford Sea Cadets parade – weekly
- AF and Veterans Breakfast Club – last Wednesday of the month
- Essex Army Cadet Awards – October annually
- Help 4 Heroes Veterans Sports day – December annually
Veterans & Families Institute for Military Social Research
Based at ARU in Chelmsford, the VFI carries out world-leading research, policy development and consultation on the impact of military service. Its work informs and improves the wellbeing of veterans, service personnel and their families.
Contact us
To find out more, please contact Prof Mike Almond. Mike is an ex-RAF Reservist with involvement in the veteran community.
Find other members of the VFI.
